Lauren YS – Corpus Flux

Juddy Roller Exhibition

Corpus Flux addresses the idea of bodies in flux, both in states of identity and physicality. Large churning masses of characters flow and twist around central hubs anchored by areas of dark ink— animal overlords that act like planets around which her characters revolve. At first glance, the viewer is confronted by a complex, intricate fluctuating mass that reveals itself piece by piece at closer inspection. These drawings act almost as visual puzzle chains in which each link in the chain is forged by human connection. The over-arching element is playful, strange and sensuous sex, a theme which plays out almost with a mind of its own over the course of this body of work.

Using only black ink, Lauren returns to her roots in graphic novels to render out this world. The medium allows exploration of a wide range of characters, most of them mutant, monster or sporting lovely curiosities, expressing wholeheartedly themes of body positivity and inclusivity. The process of creating these visual puzzles is both complex and organic; paralleling the strange and lovely process of exploring one’s own sexuality. Themes of queer love, empowerment, self-love and unabashed expression of female sexuality abound, surfacing to combat feelings of fear and shame that have pervaded the national psyche in the past year. All works were created with a powerful weight on the idea that consent is paramount, no matter what sex looks like.